Tweak Your Biz » Marketing » A Ghost Blogger: Does My Business Need One?

A Ghost Blogger: Does My Business Need One?

by lornasixsmith on September 23rd, 2011
14 Comments



You have decided that your business needs a blog, you have studied the statistics, you have spoken to other business people who use blogs to drive traffic to their websites and you want to utilise it for your own business, believing it will help you to reach a much larger audience.  But you have a stumbling block – you’re not confident regarding your own writing ability and you don’t think anyone else in the company is suitable either, not yet at least. So what do you do?

B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those who do not. Source: Hubspot, State of Inbound Marketing Lead Generation Report, 2010

Well, one consideration is to hire a ghost blogger, but before you go down that route, read these tips for some considerations first.

What is a ghost blogger?

A ghost blogger is a person who is accustomed to business blogging and will write your company’s blog posts for you.  No one needs to know that they are written by somebody else, it will be assumed that they are written by a company member.

How long before I start to see results?

It will take time for you to see a result from your blog posts. The length of time can depend on the effectiveness of the keywords used, the competitiveness of your market and the extent of using other social media (such as linked in, twitter and facebook) to spread the word about the blog.  I would suggest a minimum of 3 months of blogging before you can truly analyse its true effectiveness although you should be able to see an improvement after 3 or 4 weeks.

But how will the ghost writer know what to write about?

You will have to give the your business blogger some direction.  It is best if you meet with him/her and discuss blog topics together, what products or services you want to emphasise in the blog posts, the tone of the blog posts as well as the company’s mission statement, philosophies and targets.  He or she will be able to write in the style of writing appropriate to your business and the themes will reflect its attitudes and values too.

The ghost blogger should then analyse competitors’ blogs, use the keyword research tool to ensure that the blog will be optimised well and format your photographs for use in the blog post.

A good ghost writer will be able to adapt their writing style to the tone you want set for your business but do check out their portfolio.

How can I be sure the blog posts are well optimised?

Your discussion with your business blogger should include examining the demographic of your target market and the writing of the blog post will include analysis of the usage of particular keywords.  Your goal is to get your blog post into the first page of the search results and preferably into the first four listings(above the fold of the page). This can only happen with a well optimised blog post.  Ensuring that the right keywords are incorporated is just as important as writing interesting and engaging content but can be easier said than done.

What else can the ghost blogger do to improve traffic?

The ghost blogger will be able to do as little or as much as you want.  He or she can just write the blog posts, leaving the company to respond to comments on the blog. Or he/she can respond to comments, comment on other blogs on your behalf (which will build up links for your website), manage your facebook and twitter accounts and use various social media platforms to spread the word online.

A business blogger can also mentor you should you decide to start blogging yourself after a while, they can support you, offer you advice and introduce you to each element of the social media platform as gradually as you like.

How often should a company publish a blog post?

A minimum of once a week and publish on the same day every week as readers will expect consistency from a business blog.  I’d recommend twice a week if it is possible but once a week should be the minimum.

Writing effective blog posts is a skill and just as your website content reflects your business, so will your blog.  Your blog can be the shop window for your brand, your products, your services, your staff and your customer service. Use your blog to beckon people in the door.

A good ghost blogger can promote your business, build your brand, drive traffic to your blog and with good calls to action, can deliver leads and sales.



Category: Blogging, Blogs

Tags: , , , , , ,

The Author:

Lorna co-owns Write on Track, offering social media consultancy and ghost blogging services. She is also a co-organiser of the Blog Awards Ireland and KLCK Bloggers Network. Her knowledge of online retail is also extensive from owning a home accessories online store for 5 years. http://www.writeontrack.ie

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  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Hi Lorna, I think a lot depends on the quality and ability of the ghost blogger. If I’m honest, I think I might feel a little bit cheated if I was to find out that some of the company blogs I read were written by ghost bloggers but maybe that just the purist in me :)  

  • http://write-on-track.com Lorna

    Well, I agree Niall, and the idea behind it is that not very business person has the confidence, ability or time to write blog posts to improve the SEO of their website or to communicate with customers in this way and a good ghost blogger should be able to write in a tone and style that is appropriate to the company, just as a sales person will adapt their style for selling the company’s products. It is impossible for some businesses to do everything, particularly if they are a small business and a ghost blogger will promote their business while they are busy selling or producing or whatever it is they are best at. I take your point re being a purist and if the company owner can respond to commentators etc, then I think the readers and customers will still be in sufficient contact with the business.I mean I can’t do my accounts so I am happy to get someone else to do that for me, I don’t think anyone would think any less of my business because I don’t have a ‘maths brain’ – the same way that some accountants or craftspeople might find the writing of a blog post to be difficult.  I think some people (esp the Irish) find it hard to blow their own trumpets  and say how wonderful their products or services are and write that call to action and that is something that a ghost blogger can include in those blog posts.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    All very fair points, Lorna!  

  • http://uk.linkedin.com/in/1trevorclarke Trevor

    A good blog that people want to read and may engage with in respondng, should always contain quality content of genuine interest for the most part. The promotional aspect works best through subtlety rather than blowing trumpets or blatant advertising.

    Personally, I would only be interested in the authenticity of a company insider wrting the blog and not a ghost blogger. It should be clear who has written the blog and in what capactiy. The accounts outsourcing analogy does not work for me. Sorry Lorna, although I don’t doubt that you are great at what you do and will not be short of work or clients. :-)   

  • http://twitter.com/SecretsOfEntrep EntrepreneurSecrets

    I have 3 GB currently writing for me and I like it. I agree to their terms and they’ve been productive.
    http://iroy.in

  • http://write-on-track.com Lorna

    Hi Trevor,
    Apologies for the delay in replying, was a busy weekend and I’m only just checking comments now.

    While I agree that it would be best if a company member writes the blog posts, sometimes that isn’t always possible, particularly for small businesses.
    I don’t believe that all websites contain content written by the company staff, some businesses will hire a copy writer to write the website copy, as businesses become more aware of the benefits of blogging, I believe more and more will turn to hiring writers and it will then become more acceptable. 
     I believe a good ghost blogger can promote the company appropriately and it is up to the company owner and the blogger to decide if they can work well together.  I don’t think a ghost writer should take on a contract if they feel they can’t do justice to the company.
    Totally agree with what you say re promoting subtley rather than being blatant but having said that, I feel many business owners find it difficult to include a call to action, for example, and that is something that some blog posts require if they are to generate business. :) Lorna

  • http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-chemistry-club/products Fann Stefan1

    Hi Lorna, I really liked the idea of Ghost blogger as i am new to blogging. Yes, it does really help the companies who do not have enough resources to keep the blog live. It saves time and money as well. Nice article.

  • Anonymous

    I’m also not sure I agree with the anti ghost blogging sentiment.  You are hiring someone to write your blog yes but then they become part of the company.  An employee or a contractor is a part of the company and is working for the company so I don’t see the issue really.  Is it just language getting in the way?  

    For example if a company hired someone part time to blog would you still feel uncomfortable with that?

  • Warren Rutherford

    Thanks Niall for your encouragement and support. More to come.

  • Anonymous

    Welcome to Bloggertone!

    Your suggestion to write a description of the role is something I suggest to my coaching clients frequently! If the leader can’t describe the role and the expectations, then how is the person supposed to perform? With a few of my clients, they were able to pull apart what they really needed and wanted and then hire or delegate to the best person(s).

  • http://www.robinsonleadership.com/ Management Consulting Toronto

    “All for one and one for all!” is what Dumas’ musketeers always say. Who would have thought that today, this saying can be applied in a whole other domain? When talking about enterprises, this saying can be placed as a motto, in order to make your employees know that for the company to be successful, all the efforts of all the members and resources must have the same goal in mind. Everyone must work as a whole to make things right for both the company and their self esteem.

  • http://www.encouragingexcellence.ie/ Mairéad Kelly

    Great first post Warren.  The job I did best in (when in paid employment) had a user’s manual with the job description, responsibilities and exceptions listed in it.  Every new person into that position was expected to update it as necessary so that when they moved on the person taking over could hit the ground running.  The really good thing about it was it played to our strengths and most of us moved upwards not downwards when we did move.

  • http://www.astrowsuite.co.uk/ Time and Attendance

    Managing your employees can be as simple as using time management software to ensure they check in on time, manage their holiday dates and allowance etc. You have made some valid points, and overall an interesting read.

  • ElliStGeorgeGodfrey

     Niall,

    I think it’s easy to overlook the cultural aspects given the long-standing relationship between the Irish and the Americans. Also, one of the things that is also overlooked is that each region of the US has its own “personality”. It’s worth taking the time to research business etiquette so you have the basics as well as keeping an open mind when you are actually communicating with the person you are networking with. A good place to begin is here http://www.ediplomat.com/np/cultural_etiquette/ce_us.htm

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